It wasn't long before an angry roar came from inside, "Are you looking for a beating? Don't you know I am a monk official? I only greet scholars from the royal city who come to offer incense. A Mendicant Monk from outside? You expect me to receive him?"

The monk's voice replied, "Master, this person is not an ordinary Mendicant Monk, he comes from the Great Tang in the Eastern Land."

"Regardless of where he comes from, he's still a Mendicant Monk. Besides, the Great Tang is so far from here, just because he claims to be from the Great Tang, should we believe him?" The monk official, although still angry, had lowered his voice significantly, obviously influenced by the prestige of the Great Tang.

Suddenly, footsteps approached, and everyone saw an old monk emerge, wearing a Pilu hat and a Kasaya.

The old monk stood at the doorway, sizing up Tang Sanzang in front of him.

Tang Sanzang was dressed in a precious Kasaya, his head even more smooth and shiny. He looked at his own Kasaya, and immediately, his face showed a color of shame, then with an annoyed snort, he said, "Foreigner, our monastery does not entertain foreign wandering monks, there are honored guests inside, do not disturb. If you wish to stay, squat under the front porch for the night."

With that, the old monk scoffed and turned to leave.

Zhu Ganglie, annoyed upon hearing this, shouted, "You old monk, how can you speak like this? There's an old saying, 'monasteries are the hostels of our fellow Buddhists, and every visitor is entitled to three scoops of rice.' You wouldn't let us stay, fair enough, but why would you insult us? Asking us to squat on the porch, do you think we are dogs?"

The old monk glanced at him and said, "You fat-faced monster, how dare you quote the ancient sages? If you want to stay, squat by the door, otherwise, pack up and scram!"

Zhu Ganglie was about to retort, but a hand gripped him. Tang Sanzang stepped forward, bringing his palms together and said, "These aren't just words of ancient sages, this is the rule of Buddhism! And you, as the abbot, dare to disrespect the rules—that is truly rude."

The old monk disdainfully said, "So what if it's rude? This monastery is my family's monastery, who I let stay and who I don't, is naturally up to me."

Tang Sanzang shook his head, "You still don't understand what I mean. This is the rule set by Buddha himself, every disciple of Buddhism owns a share of every monastery in the world... So, this isn't just your monastery, but a monastery for all monks. You are merely managing it on behalf of all monks."

All these words, Tang Sanzang had learned along the way from Wukong, Zhu Ganglie, and Sha Wujing.

After all, if he wanted to play the monk convincingly, he had to be professional about it.

The old monk, speechless due to Tang Sanzang's words, reddened with anger, and finally stamped his foot in fury, "I don't care about the rules, in this monastery, my word is law, and if I say I won't host you, then I won't. Leave quickly, or don't blame me for driving you out!"

Far from being offended, Tang Sanzang tilted his head and smiled, "So, there's nothing left to discuss?"

"No negotiations!" With a grand wave of his hand, the old monk summoned over a dozen monks who rushed in, each holding a club.

Sympathetically looking at them, Tang Sanzang then withdrew from the Buddhist hall, palms together said, "Amitabha, this is all because you insisted on resorting to force... Wujing, shut the doors, release Wukong!"

Sun Wukong, known for his impatience and not one to waste words on chatter, pulled out Jingu Bang from his ear and slammed it on the ground with a thundering crash that shook the earth, grinning ferociously at the monks, "Gentlemen, are you ready to take your beating?"

"Big brother secured the doors and windows, don't worry, not one of them can escape," Sha Wujing said.

The mere ordinary monks, never having seen such mighty power, were considerably frightened.

A monk whispered to the abbot, "Abbot, this is too frightening, why don't you agree to their terms?"

The old monk trembled and shouted, "That honored monk asking for shelter, what exactly do you want?"

Sun Wukong replied, "We don't want much, the sensible thing to do is to quickly prepare a thousand or eight hundred rooms for us to stay in. The insensible ones, beware—my Jingu Bang doesn't show mercy!"

While they were talking, Sun Wukong's Jingu Bang boomed as it extended, hitting the roof directly, causing all the monks to exclaim in alarm.

The old monk was terrified, crying out, "This temple only has two to three hundred rooms in total, where can I find eight hundred rooms for you?"

Sun Wukong's face contorted fiercely as he said, "Not enough rooms? Simple, you all just move out, wouldn't that be enough?"

The old monk was stunned and cried out, "This is the temple where we've lived since childhood, passed from our grandmaster to our master, and from our master to us... to be passed to our descendants... we absolutely can't move!"

Sun Wukong didn't waste words, he stomped his foot, and with a boom, directly shattered the bluestone floor within a ten meters radius, "Will you move or not?"

The old monk was so scared that he went weak at the knees and sat down on the ground, shouting, "Great sir, please don't be violent, we'll move, we'll move!"

Three minutes later, the doors opened, and Sun Wukong walked out and said to Tang Sanzang, "Master, it's settled."

Tang Sanzang asked, "Is it livable now?"

"It's livable, it's livable! Elder, just manage your disciple well and keep him from using his staff, and you can live anywhere you like! These two to three hundred rooms, you can pick any," the old monk called out.

Tang Sanzang laughed, "Can we talk now?"

The old monk's face turned red as he said, "Your lordship is an imperial envoy from the upper country, and this humble monk failed in his reception. Now on this barren mountain, regrettably my worldly eyes failed to recognize your honored presence. Meeting your Excellency by chance... May I ask, on your journey did you eat vegetarian or meat? We will prepare the meal accordingly."

Tang Sanzang was taken aback, "You have meat here?"

Throughout his journey, Tang Sanzang had passed numerous temples, but this was the first time he was asked about his preference for meat or vegetarian food.

The old monk said with a bitter smile, "Elder, you may not know, this temple belongs to the officials. I am not exactly a monk, to be precise, a 'monk official', in charge of managing this place. We accommodate nobles from the king's city here, and they are not accustomed to vegetarian food, so the temple also prepares meat dishes."

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang's eyes lit up, "Then we must have meat!"

The old monk was surprised, "Elder, are the customs of the Great Tang so different from ours here?"

Following the principle of fooling you because you don't understand, Tang Sanzang nodded and said, "Of course, they are! In Buddhism, they embrace all rivers. Isn't there also the Laughing Buddha among those who observe renunciation?"

The old monk, clearly an outsider to Buddhism, didn't understand what the Laughing Buddha represented and chuckled awkwardly, "I see, what will these gentlemen eat then?"

Before Sun Wukong and the others could speak, Tang Sanzang said, "They, oh, they eat vegetarian."

Sun Wukong and others collectively rolled their eyes and were just about to protest when the old monk interrupted, "Ah? These gentlemen eat vegetarian?"

Tang Sanzang said, "Yes, look at them—not monkeys, then pigs, all are herbivorous animals, of course they eat vegetarian."

Zhu Ganglie and others, seeing their master tricking his disciples like this, were helpless and could only clamor, "Eating vegetarian is fine, but remember, one bushel of rice per person, less won't be enough."

The old monk quickly complied, and then immediately took people to scrub the pots and arrange tea and meals in various rooms, managing the lighting and adjusting the tables and chairs to serve Tang Sanzang and his companions.

Looking at the food in front of him, Tang Sanzang sighed, "We have the meals; if only we had some wine. Abbot, do you have wine here?"